How has technology affected hunter sucess

How many guys remember notching a tree for yardage and shooting a longbow because that is what we had. I remember when they first started talking about hunter orange and insulated boots.
 
Yes, some tech has helped, not counting old guy stuff like a motorized game cart ot ATV.
GPS, Range finder, and Bullets have changed things for me a LOT.
 
Learning the now long-lost art of judging shooting ranges by “Subtending” with either a simple fixed power scope or fine front bead of iron sights worked “OK”. It allowed rough recognition of 50-yard increments from say 250 yards to 500 yards. Never needed a range finder but learning to subtend takes practice. You cannot subtend with variable power scopes.



Learning to use the Whelen sling either, sitting, kneeling, or prone takes away the need for bipods or tripods. Of course, a shooter with a big belly and stiff back has a hard time being comfortable.



Being skilled with map and compass did not offer the same location exactness as a GPS device, yet still it worked well enough to suit most afield needs when blended with basic common sense about looking at terrain.



Being skilled at tracking and reading game sign, offered game presence information that was of high value and integrated other game and field natural history info that trail cameras just do not give us.



Any type of ATV just pushes game animals deeper and further in. And going back to GPS devices any nimrod can, see, find, disturb game animals in their hide outs.



Long range shooting has heightened game animals flight/fright/hide responses and driven them into more nocturnal grazing/browsing patterns which equals eating less nutritious feed . Once the sun goes down the nutrient building of photosynthesis reverses near immediately. They need to be out browsing in the sunlight late afternoon when nutrition is highest.



That is when I was taught by my grandfather to cut our hay crop, I can actually smell the extra richness in the hay cut late afternoon.



I think that high tech full body camo clothing is really only a critical advantage for hunting wild turkey.



Forever my closest hunting companion and I have just bought lots of various wool plaid shirts and wool pants from thrift stores. He served two tours as a deep recon ranger in Vietnam and sees no need for expensive high fashion designer camo most hunters are adorned with.



Ohh he has taken so many game animals with a 41 magnum with a six inch barrel w/o a scope.



I have never had a quieter or more scent blocking pair of boots than the gum rubber bottom, leather upper Original LL Bean Maine Hunting boots first made in 1911.



Regarding optics, I always bring two versions. A super compact fixed 50x20 power Leopold spotting scope and vintage 6x30 binocs. They have no center adjustment, set each eye piece for your eye and with their incredible depth of field, near zero to infinity they are always in focus, never need adjustment and are so fast,,,and they cost maybe $50 and are the best in lowest light.



I read this long ago about Gadgets: They are made more and more ingenious in order to disguise the triviality of the service they actually render.
 
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They wiped out the Bison with open sights, black powder and single shots. The Majority of our Hunting Public today would move to pickleball and golf if they had the restrictions of Late 19th century.

Today we have more hunters and lower success rates. While good for funding, not ideal for maintaining a long term audience. It is all a trade off and not one even i could easily make.
 

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